Tourism.

Where numbers are concerned, there is little but good news for the tourism industry, Los Angeles County's third largest source of employment.

With national economic trends on the upturn and with the growing prosperity of emerging markets across the Pacific, Los Angeles is increasingly becoming a place to visit again.

"The fact is, a lot of economies besides our own are growing, and this produces discretionary spending," said Saul Leonard, head of Saul F. Leonard Co. Inc., a Century City-based gaming and hospitality consultant. "And what do people want to do when they have money? They want to travel and see things."

Los Angeles, with its concentration of theme parks and Hollywood-related sites, is well situated geographically to attract visitors from places like South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

That's why the year's ledgers show that flights into LAX are carrying more passengers, and hotel bookings are rising.

Places like Long Beach, Santa Monica and Hollywood have each set up their own convention and visitors bureaus.

A business improvement district in Hollywood is charged with beautifying the notoriously run-down Walk of Fame area, and Long Beach has gone so far as to promote the city in a London taxi cab.

Foreign tourists are driving the region's growth, because they tend to outspend domestic visitors. In fact, the average tourist from Japan (the country leading the rise in visitors here) spends six times more than a domestic tourist on a trip to Los Angeles.

One of the few areas of worry is the dearth of new hotels under construction. If the tourism trends continue at their healthy pace, the turn of the century could see frustration among travelers looking for lodgings.

Universal Studios Inc. is planning a major expansion to add five hotels with 2,500 rooms at its theme park in Universal City. The expansion would help meet future demand for hotel space and, at the same time, make Los Angeles more of a destination resort for domestic travelers - an area where Los Angeles County has lagged San Diego and Orange counties.

Area homeowner groups are opposing such a massive expansion, however. This month, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro said they would insist that the number of hotel rooms be scaled back to 1,200 - less than half of what Universal wants.

Top 20 Visitor Attractions

Rank            Attraction

1               Universal Studios(*)
2               Disneyland(**)
3               Walk of Fame
4               Rodeo Drive
5               Venice Beach
6               Chinese Theatre
7               Sunset Boulevard
8               Santa Monica Beach/Pier
9               Knott's Berry Farm
10              Marina del Rey
11              Queen Mary
12              Star Homes
13              Magic Mountain
14              Will Rogers Beach
15              Old Town Pasadena
16              Farmer's Market
17              3rd Street Promenade
18              Griffith Park
19              Ports O' Call
20              Beverly Center

* Includes theme park, CityWalk, amphitheater and movie complex.

** Does not include overnight visitors in Orange County.

Source: Los Angeles Convention& Visitors Bureau.
Top 10 Domestic Sources of Visitors in L.A.

                             Visitors       Visitors
Country                          1995           1996

San Francisco/Bay Area      1,743,000      1,710,000
New York/Newark               945,000        910,000
Phoenix                       857,000        770,000
Chicago                       543,000        570,000
Seattle/Tacoma                535,000        570,000
Denver                        484,000        440,000
San Diego                     548,000        440,000
Dallas/Fort Worth             308,000        410,000
Portland/Salem                378,000        390,000
Sacramento/Stockton           330,000        360,000

Source: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau
Top 10 International Sources of Visitors in L.A.

               Visitors        Visitors
Country            1995           1996

Mexico        1,307,000      1,422,000
Japan           575,000        610,000
Canada          401,000        439,000
U.K.            389,000        407,000
Germany         332,000        334,000
S. Korea        220,000        226,000
Taiwan          210,000        231,000
Australia       168,000        168,000
France          141,000        160,000
Italy           109,000        111,000
Other         1,140,000      1,246,000

Total         4,992,000      5,354,000

Source: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau
L.A. Visitor Profile

Purpose of Visit

Leisure                               76%
Commercial:                           24%

Accommodations:

Hotel/Motel                           50%
Private Homes                         48%
Other                                  2%

Various Facts:

Rented a Car                          33%
Consulted a Travel Agent              51%
First-Time Visitors                   17%
Average Visitor Age            37.7 years
Average Household Income          $62,400
Length of Stay                   5.1 days
Average Party Size            2.1 percent

Source: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau